From my Life Journal on 8/14/10:
Scripture--Jeremiah 17:7-8--"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
Observation--A man who walks with the Lord and is rooted in His words will not grow tired or fearful or anxious when tough times come.
Application--I need to continue to spread my roots deeper into Christ--trust His word, obey His word, study His word--then when tough, fearful, stressful times come I will continue to produce spiritual fruit in my life.
Prayer--Give me perseverance to continue digging into your word. Thank you for giving me nourishment in even the toughest times of life. Let my fruit be evident and helpful to others.
Four years later the imagery of being rooted in Christ still captures my attention. Rooted, growing, branching, producing fruit...a picture of a growing, healthy tree encapsulates for me what a growing Christ-follower ought to look like.
The root system is vital. Strong roots are essential for nourishment. Really the key to a good root system built in Jesus is trust. Trusting Jesus. Trusting He is good. Trusting He is in control. Trusting He has done the work. Trusting He alone brings fulfillment. Trusting His work bears the fruit in us. Trusting that the confidence He gives is better than what we can drum up on our own and it is a permanent confidence.
Jeremiah 17:5 reminds us "cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength". Jeremiah is a great example of how trusting God carries us through adversity. Jeremiah knew drought, both in the physical and spiritual senses of the word. Jeremiah knew what it was like to be rejected. He questioned whether God would be to him a "deceptive brook, like a spring that fails." But in spite of all of this he continued to produce the fruit of faithfulness, because he didn't depend on his own strength but he trusted God.
He trusted God so much that he "ate" God's word. It was his nourishment. Fill yourself up on God's word. Let your roots reach deep into His word. Soak up the riches. It will carry you through drought, desertion, pain, and frustration. Being rooted in Jesus will carry you through cancer, transitions at work, relationship problems, and betrayal. Eat and drink from the life of Jesus, trust him, spread out the fibers of your roots in Him, and He will make you green and fruitful in a land that is arid, parched, and empty. Thank you Jesus for giving us nourishment!
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